Macau’s government has extended the gambling licenses of SJM Holdings and MGM China Holdings by two years, putting them on equal footing with four other casino concessionaires that operate in the world’s largest gaming hub.The concessions of SJM and MGM China will expire on June 26, 2022, the same as Sands China, Wynn Macau, Galaxy Entertainment Group and Melco Resorts & Entertainment Limited. SJM and MGM China will have to pay 200 million patacas (US$24.7 million) each for the extension.The… Source link

Wynn Resorts was fined US$20 million by Nevada gaming regulators over its failure to investigate and act upon sexual-misconduct allegations by employees against former Chief Executive Officer Steve Wynn.The fine was proposed by Nevada Gaming Commission Chairman Tony Alamo at a hearing Tuesday and confirmed by a 4-0 vote.Last month, the company reached a settlement with the state, but the amount of the fine wasn’t specified.While Alamo said the fine will be “record setting,” he didn’t want it to… Source link

Australia’s biggest casino company Crown Resorts reported on Wednesday a sharp decline in spending by wealthy Chinese tourists at its properties, pushing its shares down in their biggest one-day fall in more than two years.Crown, which is owned 47 per cent by billionaire James Packer, also posted a weaker than expected profit for the six months to December. Turnover from VIPs – largely Chinese tourists on package holidays – fell 12 per cent compared to a 16 per cent rise in the year-ago period… Source link

Shun Tak Holdings, founded by Macau tycoon Stanley Ho Hung-sun, has deepened its alliance with one of Hong Kong’s wealthiest families to strengthen its control of the largest holder of casino licences in the former Portuguese colony, giving managing director Pansy Ho Chiu-king the upper hand in a family tussle for the magnate’s gambling empire. Pansy Ho, the eldest of the tycoon’s five children with his second wife Lucina Laam King Ying, signed an agreement with the Fok Foundation, Lanceford and Interdragon to maintain STDM’s 54 per cent stake in…

Corona Casino Phu Quoc has become the first casino in Việt Nam to allow Vietnamese to gamble. This will be for a three-year trial period.— Photo Courtesy of the Corona Viet Nam News
HCM CITY— Corona Casino Phu Quoc, which opened late last week, is the first casino in Việt Nam to allow Vietnamese to gamble.
To be allowed in for a three-year trial period, Vietnamese visitors have to pay an entry fee of VNĐ1 million (US$43) for 24 hours. The money will go into the coffer of…

As the US-China trade war escalates, with all economic ties between the two countries at risk of being politicised, investment banks and fund managers are keeping a close eye on casino licences for American companies in Macau. “The US-owned Macau casinos are sitting on what could be called a geopolitical fault line,” said Steve Vickers, the chief executive of Hong Kong-based specialist risk consultancy Steve Vickers & Associates. “First, one of the main Macau casinos is the largest donor to the United States Republican Party and, thus, directly to President…

Studio City International Holdings has raised US$359 million in its US initial public offering (IPO), pricing its shares at the top of the Macau casino and resort company’s targeted range. Studio City sold 28.75 million American depositary shares for US$12.50 each on Wednesday after pricing them at US$10.50-12.50, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. The listing may provide a lift for Macau’s gaming industry, which has been beset by increased government scrutiny, potential economic fallout of China-US trade tensions and, in September, Typhoon Mangkhut. An index of six Macau gaming…

China’s crackdown on corruption and investors’ fears over the impact of the trade war on the economy have sent the stock prices of Macau’s top six casinos tumbling an average of 40 per cent since June, bringing their valuations back down to reasonable levels. But investors are not convinced the cheaper stocks are a sign that a reversal is on the cards, given expectations that many wealthy Chinese high rollers will continue to give Macau a miss as economic growth and the value of the yuan exchange rate weakens. Gross…